Emotional Intelligence: Educating the Right Mind for the 21st

Century
Darwin Nelson, Ph. D.
Kaye Nelson, Ed. D.
Gary Low, Ph. D.

ABSTRACT
This article focused on the importance of emotional intelligence in the education of students for
the 21st century. The model of emotional intelligence developed by Nelson and Low (1977-
2005) was presented and research findings indicating the importance of emotional intelligence
skills in academic achievement were discussed. The recommendation that education be
expanded to include the development of the emotional mind was supported by research in
emotional intelligence and recent findings from affective neuroscience. If students are to
develop essential life skills and the ability to think constructively and act wisely, the emotional
mind must be understood and considered central to education for the 21st century.

Introduction
Extensive research (Ornstein, 1997; Epstein, 1998; and Nelson and Low, 2003) has indicated that
the focus of current education is on rational and cognitive processes and that little emphasis has
been placed on the important contributions of the emotional mind. Many current problems
facing educators such as underachievement, lack of motivation, violence, alcohol and drug
addiction are indications of the need to include an emphasis on the education of the ‘right mind’,
the emotional or experiential mind.
Two minds are better than one, and positive behaviors that we value such as positive self esteem,
meaningful goal achievement, dependability, effective communication, constructive thinking,
emotional self control, problem solving skills, and healthy stress management skills involve
higher psychological processes and the integration of cognitive and emotional minds. If you
accept the premise that effective education involves the development of personal responsibility
skills, we need to broaden our education experience to include specific learning experiences to
help students develop the emotional intelligence skills essential to academic achievement,
personal well-being, and career/life effectiveness. This expanded view of the role of education
necessitates a focus on developing the ‘right mind’ as well as the cognitive mind.
Educating our two minds with a focus on how the cognitive and emotional mind work is the key
to developing emotional intelligence. Emotionally intelligent behavior is reflected in the ability
to think constructively and behave wisely. Intentional and self-directed behavior requires
reflective thoughts. Wise and effective behavior requires the ability to regulate and express
emotions in healthy ways. Emotional intelligence skills harmonize the cognitive and emotional
minds and are essential to effective behavior.
New information from the area of affective neuroscience supports the research on the
relationship of emotional intelligence to academic achievement and personal well-being. The
development of the brain during the period from early adolescence to young adulthood is
dynamic and significant. The learning experiences provided during this critical developmental
period can positively impact the development of skills essential to academic, career, and life
effectiveness.

Defining and Quantifying Emotional Intelligence

In our model (Nelson and Low, 2003), emotional intelligence is defined as a confluence of
developed skills and abilities to: (1) accurately know yourself in terms of personal strengths and
weaknesses, (2) establish and maintain effective and healthy relationships, (3) get along and
work productively with others, and (4) deal effectively and healthily with the demands and
pressures of daily living. The Emotional Skills Assessment Process (ESAP) is our research based
assessment model and is used to help students identify and understand important emotional
intelligence skills. The ESAP and our educational model for developing emotional intelligence
are presented in our book, Emotional Intelligence: Achieving Academic and Career Excellence,
Prentice Hall, 2003)
Effective and personally meaningful learning is a self-directed process. The ESAP allows
students to identify their current level of emotional skills and collaboratively plant improvement
with the help of a teacher, advisor, mentor, or counselor. The quality of the relationship with the
individual student is an important variable. Emotional learning is transformative in nature and
requires a student centered approach. The ESAP is a tool to begin a helping relationship with a
student and provides a map or guide in developing strength focused emotional learning
experiences.
The ESAP is a brief, valid, and reliable instrument suitable use in educational settings. The
ESAP provides scale specific measurement of ten emotional intelligence skills and three problem
areas. ESAP skill scales are positively correlated and interrelated, and each scale has enough
independence to warrant individual interpretation. Cross cultural research with the ESAP
indicates stable construct validity across cultures, and the instrument has been translated in
several languages and is used world wide.
Factor analytic studies in the United States and China indicate that there are four distinct factors
provided by the ESAP. These four factors of emotional intelligence have been identified as; (1)
Interpersonal Skills, (2) Leadership Skills, (3) Self-Management Skills, and (4) Intrapersonal
Skills. The specific emotional intelligence skills that contribute to these factors are: (1)
Assertion, (2) Social Awareness, (3) Empathy, (4) Decision Making, (5) Positive Influence
(Leadership), (6) Drive Strength (Goal Setting), (7) Commitment Ethic (Personal
Responsibility), (8) Time Management, (9) Self Esteem, and (10) Stress Management. Research
establishing the relationship of emotional intelligence skills to academic achievement (Nelson
and Low, 2003; Vela, 2002; Nelson and Nelson. 2003; and Stottlemyer, 2002) has identified the
ESAP scales of Assertion, Drive Strength, Commitment Ethic, Time Management and Stress
Management as being significant predictors of academic success. A large scale study with high
school and college students in China supported these findings. Emotional intelligence skills as
measured by the ESAP are important factors in student achievement and personal well being.

Constructive Thinking and Emotional Intelligence

Einstein said long ago that humankind was doomed to self-destruction unless we change how we
think. Our research and the research of Seymour Epstein (1999) have indicated that constructive
thinking is a key factor in emotional intelligence. Constructive thinking is reflective and
involves the ability to use both the cognitive and emotional mind in choosing and expressing
effective behavior. In order to develop constructive thinking skills, students must understand
how our two minds work. Understanding the different functions and processes of the cognitive
and emotional minds is essential to meaningful emotional learning.
A recent study (Nelson and Cox, 2004) has indicated that the emotional intelligence skills
measured by the ESAP are significantly related to Epstein/s \positive thinking patterns as well as
his key concept of global constructive thinking. Global constructive thinking as measured by
Epstein’s Constructive Thinking Inventory and the ten emotional intelligence skills measured by
the ESAP are related and important factors in emotional intelligence. The empirical validity of
the Constructive Thinking Inventory is extensive and supportive of the research findings reported
by professionals using the ESAP in educational settings.
Constructive thinking is a key factor in academic achievement, career success, and personal
well-being. The emotional intelligence skills identified by the ESAP assessment and global
constructive thinking as measured by the Constructive Thinking Inventory provide a research
based focal point for developing and implementing learning experiences to improve emotional
intelligence. To improve emotional intelligence, education must focus on the individual student
and the education of both minds.
From a practical view, emotional intelligence is the ability to think constructively and behave
wisely. Emotionally intelligent behavior is characterized by what we have long called wisdom.
A wise person is much more than an intelligent person. An intelligent person may possess an
extensive vocabulary, exquisite logical reasoning skills, and exceptional abilities and knowledge
in areas of science and mathematics and not be wise or effective in behavior. Emotional
intelligence links and harmonizes thoughts and feelings into intentional and effective behavior.
Wisdom is the ability to make good judgments based on experience. Understanding emotional
experience and developing the ability to improve the emotional mind as well as the cognitive
mind is essential to developing emotional intelligence.
Changing the emotional mind can occur at the speed of thought. Changing the emotional mind
and improving our ability to think constructively requires a clear understanding of how our two
minds work. Emotional learning occurs best in an educational environment that is student
centered and focused on framing learning to a context that is personally relevant to the individual
learner. Epstein has provided an excellent model to illustrate a point by point comparison of the
functions and processes associated with both the cognitive and emotional (experiential) mind.
Effective emotional learning must recognize and integrate these differential mind functions.

How Our Two Minds Work

The essential point for consideration in designing educational experiences that develop
constructive thinking and effective behavior involves a clear understanding of how the cognitive
mind and emotional mind differ in function and process. Most of the emphasis in current
education is on teaching cognitive processes, and the evaluation of educational effectiveness
centers on tested performance. It is important to emphasize that the cognitive and emotional
minds are both ways of knowing and making sense out of our human experience. They are both
cognitive systems.
Epstein (1998) points out that the emotional mind: (1) learns directly from experience, (2)
thinks quickly for immediate action, (3) is holistic, (4) thinks in terms of associations, (5) is
closely connected to emotions, (6) interprets experience and guides conscious thoughts and
behaviors through ‘vibes’ from past experiences, (7) sees the world in concrete images,
metaphors, and stories, (8) is experienced passively as if we are sized by our emotions, (9)
experiences its beliefs as self-evidently valid (experiencing is believing), (10) pays attention only
to outcome, (11) thinks in terms of broad categories, (12) operates in different modes
corresponding to specific emotional states, and (13) changes slowly with repetitive or intense
experience.
In contrast, Epstein (1998) has shown that the cognitive mind: (1) learns from abstract
representations, (2) thinks slowly, deliberately and is oriented toward planning and
consideration, (3) is analytic, (4) thinks in terms of causes and effects, (5) separates logic from
emotions, (6) interprets experience through conscious appraisal of events, (7) sees the world in
abstract symbols (words and numbers), (8) experienced actively and consciously (as if we are in
control of our thoughts), (9) requires justification by logic and evidence ( give me proof), (10)
pays attention also to process, (11) thinks in terms of finer distinctions and gradations, (12)
highly integrated and more internally consistent, and (13) changes rapidly. This point by point
comparison of the workings of our two minds has important implications for education.
Effective behavior and wisdom seem to require an understanding and integration of the
emotional mind and the cognitive mind. An emphasis on one to the neglect of the other leads to
behavior that is incomplete. By accepting the value of both minds, we can develop educational
experiences that impact thinking, the constructive expression of emotions, and the development
of wise and effective behaviors. Emotional intelligence skills are higher psychological processes
that harmonize the two minds and contribute to academic success, career and work effectiveness,
and personal well-being (mental and physical health)
Ornstein (1997) has stated that education must focus on both minds and called for an educational
system that recognizes how our brains work. Epstein (1998) has argued for the recognition that
the emotional mind plays an important role in the development of constructive thinking and that
students need to learn how to develop positive thinking patterns. Our research (Nelson and Low)
has identified some of the positive contributions of the emotional mind to academic achievement,
effective teaching, and mental health.

Educating the Right Mind

The young people of the world are the most important resource in the global economy. We can
no longer afford to ignore the vast numbers of students who do not benefit from our current
educational system. Underachievement, lack of motivation, alcohol and drug addiction,
violence, and severe mental health problems are a few of the indications that something is going
wrong. We argue for the inclusion of emotional learning as a central focus in education for the
21st century.
The education of the right mind necessitates a view of learning that is transformative rather than
cognitive and information based. In our view, education must be relevant to the individual
student’s experience and provide learning that the student can use to improve themselves as well
their world.

References
Cox, Judith and Nelson, D. (2004). The relationship of emotional intelligence skills and
constructive thinking patterns. Unpublished raw data, Texas A&M University-Kingsville.
Epstein, S. (1998). Constructive thinking: The key to emotional intelligence. Westport, CT:
Prager.

Nelson, D., Jin, Y., and Wang, X.H. (2002). Reliability and validity parameters for the Chinese
Version of the Emotional Skills Assessment Process. Unpublished raw data, East China Normal
University, Shanghai, China.

Nelson, D. and Low, G. (2003). Emotional intelligence: Achieving academic and career
excellence. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

Nelson, D. and Nelson, K. (2003). Emotional intelligence skills: Significant factors in freshman
achievement and retention. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. CG032375)

Orstein, R. (1997). The right mind: Making sense of the hemispheres. New York: Harcourt Brace
and Company.

Stottlemyer, B. G. (2002) A conceptual framework for emotional intelligence in education:

Factors affecting student achievement. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Texas A&M
University-Kingsville.

Vela, R. (2003). The role of emotional intelligence in the academic achievement of first year
college students. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Texas A&M University-Kingsville.